D.C.’s single ladies are nation’s happiest, survey finds

By Maggie Fazeli FardMarch 8, 2012

The nation’s capital is home to the country’s happiest single women, according to a new survey. (Bill O'Leary/WASHINGTON POST)

Before your jaw hits the floor, here’s why. "Unlike other cities, Washington has people coming and going with each administration," according to Helen Fisher, PhD., an anthropologist and Match.com's chief scientific advisor. "So women have a continually renewed source of men."

"Talking politics" on a date, considered by many to be a faux pas, is also a good way to get to know another person's values, Fisher noted.

The findings, published in the April issue of Glamour, are based on a survey of 5,000 unmarried men and women, 21 and older, living in the nation's 10 largest metro areas.

Maybe Washington’s high rating shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; Virginia is for lovers, after all, and Arlington has been called the nation’s most romantic city.

While D.C.’s single ladies are the happiest, it’s apparently a sad, sad scene for women in Boston, which rated lowest on the singles satisfaction scale.

Glamour and Match.com have a theory for Boston’s rough dating scene: One of eight men expect sex on the first date.

More fun facts from the study:

Women are happiest with their dating lives in Washington, D.C., followed by Philadelphia.

Women are unhappiest with their dating lives in Boston, followed by Atlanta.

Single women outnumber single men in Washington, D.C.

Alaska has the greatest number of eligible men per woman.

One of eight Boston men expect sex on the first date -- the highest of any city.

Find the full "Meet-Up Map" in Glamour's April issue.

Tell us: What makes you happiest in the Washington area? Is it cherry blossoms in bloom? Custard at Dairy Godmother? A delay-free Metro commute? Share your answers — which don’t have to be relationship-related — in the comments below.

View Photo Gallery: What’s it like to live without a partner while longing for one, over years, then decades?